This was one of my last serious road trip shows flying into Phoenix from NYC.
and going in style with a rented convertible an a swank hotel.
And a fine sister indeed.
Yeah, about as good life as I experienced.
These were the last shows that really wowed me.
We made a wrong turn and wound up twenty miles from nowhere
and at a reservation store. Real sad that those folks so far off the beaten track but probably just as well because they will be out in the desert long after our modern society that worships technology
is dead & gone.
I sang HERE COMES SUNSHINE on the balcony of the hotel the night before this breakout. and the word was already out it was a possibility.
I liked what the boys did with the tune to revamp it and it was IMHO a good fit for Vince.
This is a pretty solid set list and is one of those fleeting shows before they start bringing in a bunch of tunes that just never clicked with me.
example> 'Last Time' is a decent oldies tune but I don't want to hear it Set 2 never ever.
Many a head had to take his licorice with him and head home.
I headed off to the U.S. Military and they helped me get my organizational skills in order. Now being that I was a HEAD there was only so much they were going to get out of me.
In Fort Sill at Basic I befriended a brother from Africa or he befriended me- who joined the Army as a path to citizenship.
He told me, "Every person has a moment of pure insanity every day, to become wise and live a long life -learn to step outside of yourself during that moment."
Anyway from Deadhead to soldier was an adjustment.
The good thing from my perspective is after 6 months in Oklahoma I was able to join a National Guard unit in New York.
That was interesting because in Fort Sill I was a good seven years older than most recruits
but in N.Y. almost all the guys were Vietnam era soldiers.
I learned a lot from those older guys.
They turned me on to the preaching of Tony Evans.
Fella's got on my Freedom nickname but twisted it a little
and called me 'free love'.
I needed that reality check because
my days as a ladies Man were fast drawing to a close.
I was blessed to be in the service between the gulf wars and before the National Guard went overseas.
I would say the most serious thing a person could do is serve in combat.
All the veterans that have told me about their experience
were deeply moved by such fighting.
You know my Dad had a quote it took me forever to comprehend
"If you have no love of Country,
You will someday have no country
to love"
(During a lot of my hippie days I was like GOOD!)
but the more I live and the more I see of this world,
there is something important about being home.
When I traveled for Europe 90 which included Berlin
I literally was overjoyed to be back in the U.S.
Be that as it may -that is all a major digression from this sweet show in the Arizona desert.
Again for me this is one of the last shows
where I was still into the music!
The set list is great and for the most part well played.
I don't remember Weir having throat issues but the recordings don't lie (most of the time it was Garcia who had that issue).
I like when they all took a verse on Maggie's especially Phil.
The Second set is really nice as well and with everyone BUZZING about HCS they had to hold the large crowds focus.
Which they sure did.(and mine too)
I have always liked Crazy Fingers it certainly ventured out and about was awol for a time and then Jerry played it regularly again.
It was tricky for him I think the pace had to be just right or it was very much possible for it to train wreck.
Anyway I always cut him slack on FINGERS
because I felt like it was a rarity
even when it was in the rotation
and a song that Garcia really went out of his comfort zone
to render.
The 'Playing reprise' was unfinished business they were pretty creative about weaving in and out Playin'
and that was a real treat if they spread it over a few shows.
As far as I remember that was distinctive to later era shows.
the breaking up of PITB over multiple nights.
Catching a China Doll always seemed like a bonus to me
not a standard rotation ballad by any means.
Plus a Brokedown encore.
For me that was the heart of Garcia's night.
I don't have much of a heart for T-stones anymore
but it sure was a tune for that time period
usually with a NFA chaser like here.
Overall this was a good run
and one of the last times
I felt like I got a classic Dead set.
Other thing is by this time I was clean & sober
and it helped
being one in ten thousand
that come for the show.

I sang a little while and then flew on.

Why did Bobby's "Texes Dragongfly' comment get cut from this version?

The mud under the grass was so squishy we were all floating on it like a waterbed! The here comes sunshine opener blew me away as it was my favorite song at the time and I knew they would never play it so it was a total surprise. Healey had the threshold to the noise gate set to low cutting off the vocals at the beginning of Sunshine. Weir screws up Me and my uncle lyrics. Masteriece and Althea are great. Crazy Fingers sounds sweet with a really good end jam. The China Doll here is also really well done, although the "sproingy" midi sound Bob was using on this tune for years always kind of ruined things. His other meaty distorted tone throughout the rest of this show sounded good and Mickey sticking to congas played into the tribal feel of the weekend. Vince stuck to mostly organic sounding piano and organ tones, thankfully steering clear of the synthy patches. (Although I believe Bralov would determine his patches for him) A very fun show with Jerry looking happy and healthy. Other than 12-16-92, the best show of the year in my opinion. The sound quality hear is excellent. I wish 12-5-92 had a soundboard to listen to!

Not a bad offering given the timeframe. This recording sparkles, as absolutely perfect a rendering of a live performance as anyone would want....5 stars for that alone. The show itself is a little bumpy but has its moments, and they are as follows:

• A drop-dead gorgeous Brokedown Palace encore

•A lovely China Doll

• A spacey UJB > Playin' reprise that features Jerry exploring his MIDI reed instrument options;

• One of the best latter-day renderings of Here Comes Sunshine

• Totally rocking' Samson & Delilah

I give the performance 3 stars. A few recording glitches and what sounds like Bobby getting strep throat as the show progresses is what kept my rating down below 4 stars. If it wasn't worth listening to I wouldn't have bothered with a rating at all! Enjoy & thanks again to Charlie Miller

First and foremost another salute to Charlie Miller for another excellent clean fidelity soundboard presentation.
Good Call on the follow-up to a very unthoughtful review by mr. bill. A listener needs to remember that the song list isn't going to hit it off for everybody. The band's picking the most sane set for the night to keep from millionth song over-load as it is.
I found this little stat that must be close to everybody's favorite setlist. It's the top 15 songs played by the Grateful Dead from 1972 to 1995:

Song Times played
“Drums” 1,386
“Playing in the Band” 651
“Sugar Magnolia” 494
“Not Fade Away” 486
“The Other One” 438
“Jack Straw” 437
“Trucking” 427
“Me and My Uncle” 412
“Looks Like Rain” 407
“Promised Land” 407
“I Know You Rider” 406
“China Cat Sunflower” 403
“New Minglewood Blues” 398
“Around and Around” 395
“Tennessee Jed” 390

Then again, it's all about everybody's own special songs that light up their personal soundtrack to life...or not.

Of all the adjectives to describe this show, "sloppy" is not one that comes to mind. The band is playing together, on-time, and with true feeling. This is a top shelf show for '92. If you hate the 90s, then you may not concur, but for those of us who can appreciate latter-era Dead, there is a lot of great music to be found here; the breakout Here Comes Sunshine, GSET, Maggies Farm, Masterpiece, and Deal, just to name a few from the first set.

Jerry is on, Charlie Miller has given us a SBD with supreme sound quality, and the band seem to be having fun. That's a recipe for a "just exactly perfect" Grateful Dead show.

sad to say, this is a sloppy show.

this show is great and the Here Comes Sunshine is a nice treat. For the ultimate Here comes Sunshine you gotta listen to 4/2/73 at Boston Garden. 20 minute long jam contained within that is mind blowing

This was my 4th dead show 16 years to the day. Jerry was just coming back off his trip from the DL. The most noteworthy thing about this show was that it was the first time they played H.C. Sunshine in nearly 19 years. Good version, but obviously lacking the intensity of those legendary 73/74 ones. There's a reason they retired it for so long, they felt they took it as far as it could go. Just listen to 2/23/74 at Winterland, you'll know why. There is no version better, 12/19/73 is a contender, 11/14/73 SD is good too, and I haven't heard the Winterland 73 version yet, but I stand by my claim.
As far as this show, FOTD, Althea, & Masterpiece are the 1st set highlights. I still need to go back and listen to the 2nd set, but this is one of the better shows of 1992, so check it out, the sound is phenomenal. I give it 4 stars for sound quality, and the fact it brings back memories.